Well, you're giving up Leonard or Hickson, and also a first-round pick, to do so. Gortat may be worth it. Jefferson is one of a bunch of players just like him in the league. I wouldn't deal Leonard or Hickson straight up for him at this point.
If by "continue to tank" you mean that we continue to exceed expectations with a starting lineup that can hang with anyone in the league......I say we continue to tank. If by crossroads, you mean we are a month into an impressive rebuild, with only a bench to build, I say this is fantastic. The reality is, we are Crawford away from pushing OKC for 1st in the NW. I'm okay with this. If an opportunity comes up to grab a guy, then they will jump on it. If not, they are set for a pretty easy off season in terms of taking the next big step....In year two of a rebuild.
Make no mistake, our bench is this shitty because we are tanking for this summer. It's not a full-on tank because that would involve benching starters etc, but we could easily improve our bench right now and Olshey is choosing not to. The team is exceeding expectations because of Lillard, Batum, and Matthews. Those three are playing exceptional basketball right now. Hickson has been good too, but i think Matthews and Lillard have won us a few games. My point is that I think our starters are good enough to make some noise in the west.... but we have no bench. Would you rather have Olshey sit on our bench the way it is, so we will have a crappy draft pick and probably no playoffs, or would you rather have him go after some better bench players and maybe make a run at the playoffs?
Exactly. People really need to learn to take their medicine ... the medicine isn't even guaranteed to cure, but it's better than the "leeches" people are suggesting (*cough* Kenyon and Delonte)
But at this rate, what kind of pick will we get and will we even hold onto it? Why not add a couple vets and give it a shot? I think that's better than wearing out our starters and just barely missing the playoffs.
There's still a good chance you miss the playoffs if you add mediocre vets. You're competing with Dallas (who's been Dirk-less), Golden State (Bogut-less), Utah, and Houston for those couple of playoff spots. Even if you get in you'll get KOed in the first round. Why crap on a lotto pick when you just got a new GM who nailed the pick last year? There's still time to evaluate this. Closer to the trade deadline Olshey can decide to become a buyer or seller, when more has been settled and injuries have played a role. That said, I see relatively little benefit to making a run at the playoffs compared to playing it out, probably shutting LMA down the last month of the season, and trying to get a top 10 pick again. Another lotto pick plus a ton of cap room opens up a lot of possibilities for the offseason, when you can actually make a step toward contending in some way. Why jeopardize that?
Is there that big of a difference between the 14th pick (barely missing playoffs) and 15th pick (having squeaked into the playoffs)? After all, Faried wasn't a lottery pick and we could've gotten him despite making the playoffs that year.
If we are 8-11 or better after this 12 out of 19 on the road stretch, we will be in a good position to make the playoffs provided there are no major injuries..
It's becoming clear that this team is a lot more than a few pieces away from competing. Retool? I think this roster needs a rebuild. Time for an entire revamp?
I don't think we're going to barely miss the playoffs ... I think by the end of the year the starters will be so worn out, we'll miss them by a mile.
